Is Elon Musk raising an AI as a child?
So Elon Musk has a Baby named X Æ A-12 - Its pronounced X(ecks) Æ (ash) A(ayy)-12(twelve) Elon Musk says his contribution to the name was the A-12 portion. He says it represents the Archangel-12 airplane, which was the C_A spyplane which preceeded the SR-71, which is his favorite plane. This child's middle name is Æ aka A I aka Artifical Intelligence
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a32388638/elon-musk-grimes-baby-name-x-ae-a12-meaning/
Elon Musk and Grimes Named Their Baby X Æ A-12. Here's the Plane Behind the Name
By now, you’ve probably seen a bizarre, seemingly nonsensical string of characters appear all over your social feeds: X Æ A-12. It looks more like a jumbled security code than a moniker you’d bestow upon your harmless human child, but alas, it sure seems like Tesla and SpaceX mastermind Elon Musk and his musician girlfriend, Grimes, really did name their newborn baby “X Æ A-12.”
No word yet on the middle name, but for the kid’s sake, we sure hope it’s something simple like Tom.
When Musk casually dropped the newborn’s name—“X Æ A-12 Musk”—we didn’t think much of it, especially since rumors had recently circulated that the couple had chosen to name their baby “Influenza” amidst a global pandemic. So anything was on the table. But after a day of fervent speculation, Grimes (née Claire Boucher) indeed confirmed the validity of the name on Twitter, with a handy—albeit still a bit hazy—breakdown of its origins.
•X, the unknown variable ⚔️
•Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence)
•A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent 🤍
+
(A=Archangel, my favorite song)
(⚔️🐁 metal rat)
— ꧁ ༒ Gℜiꪔes ༒꧂ 🍓🐉🎀 小仙女 (@Grimezsz) May 6, 2020
Huh!
Now, there’s a small, potentially problematic wrinkle to the name. According to the birth registration handbook for the state of California, where Musk, Grimes, and little X Æ A-12 call home, baby names can only include the “26 alphabetical characters of the English language,” which means no numbers, symbols, or “pictographs, ideograms, [or] diacritical marks … allowed.”
“They have an opportunity to appeal the rejection of the birth certificate application,” attorney David Glass told PEOPLE, “but it’s unlikely that it will be granted because, again, California … has been struggling with using symbols.”
But when you get past the inherent weirdness, potential legal issues, and overwhelming relief that it’s not “Influenza,” it turns out “X Æ A-12 Musk” is arguably the most PopMech name ever. You have one part math, one part sci-fi, one part tech, one part military aviation, and of course, one part Elon Musk. It’s like he and Grimes have access to our daily web traffic reports.
We’re especially interested in the inspiration for the plane portion of that name, which, once again, is X AE A-12. Grimes admitted the last part is a tribute to the Lockheed A-12, a precursor to the “SR-17” Blackbird—Musk quickly clarified it as the SR-71—which they like because of its emphasis on wicked speed without weapons or defenses. Plus, the plane was “great in battle, but non-violent,” Grimes tweeted.
SR-71, but yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 6, 2020
The Short-Lived A-12
You probably know all about the mighty Blackbird, but perhaps not its predecessor